Reading through 2 Chronicles, I noticed an ongoing phrase pattern that was curious to me. If you know anything about Old Testament history, you know the Kingdom of Israel split in two after the reign of King Solomon. The northern tribes were known as Israel and the southern kingdom was known as Judah. And you also know that there were some good kings and some bad kings.What made the kings good or bad was determined by how they followed God. The bad kings worshiped the false gods of the neighboring nations. The good kings worshiped God.
That's all simple to understand. Reject God and God rejects you. Embrace God and God embraces. After all that was part of the covenant God made with Israelites coming out of Egypt. Some kings rejected God and some kings embraced God and some tried to do both with mixed reviews, mostly not good.
The phrase that caught my eye was, "He sought the Lord or did what was right in the eyes of the Lord...so he became very powerful." In other words, those that pursued God, led their peoples to pursue God, got rid of the foreign gods and idols became successful and powerful leaders among the nations. They conquered nations and held off foreign invaders. They became wealthy and prosperous as a nation, and thus the king became wealthy.
On the other hand, the text says that kings who shut God out and worshiped the idols and fad gods of their day, got their butts kicked. They became subject to neighboring kingdoms, lost their wealth, their lives, their families, their self respect. Their kingdoms were in constant turmoil. They even became a laughing stock to the surrounding peoples. Anyone could come in and walk over them.
The moral of the story is also simple. Even though we, as followers of Christ, don't live under the conditions and promises of the Old Testament Covenant, the principle still remains. As Jesus said, you can't serve two masters. He also said you're either for me or against me. Although Jesus, never promised that everything would be rosy in your life once you gave your life to Him, He did say that He would never leave us nor forsake us. He said that He'd be with always and that He would send a (paraclete) comforter in the Holy Spirit. He promises ultimate victory and an abundant life.
Are you getting your butt kicked by Satan or the world or life itself? There might be a reason. How's your pursuit of Jesus going? How committed are you to delving into His Word for guidance and direction and insight? How tuned into the Holy Spirit are you? How often are you hanging out with other believers who really seeking to grow in Christ and serve Christ? What's your lifestyle looking like? God is more than willingly to allow us to suffer the consequences of our own choices. He doesn't have to punish us. All He has to do is simply remove His hand and/or influence from our life.
God, it seems like every time I'm getting my butt kicked it has to do with me going off in my own direction. I find myself in those moments being drawn back to you. You are my strength. When I humble myself before you, I begin to sense your power come alive in my life. Thanks for your steadfastness in my life. Thanks for your forgiveness. Thanks for the victory you give me through your Son, Jesus.
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